BGA Annual Conference 2025 and AGM

Speakers

• Professor Lyesse Laloui

  Professor, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

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  Professor Lyesse Laloui

  Professor, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

  Lyesse Laloui is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL) where he directs the Laboratory for Soil Mechanics. Prof. Laloui’s international recognition is solidified by two honoris causae (Heriot-Watt University, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca) in recognition of his sustainability leadership.

  Prof. Laloui holds influential positions within the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and Academia Europaea, and serves as European Vice President for the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. As Director for Europe of the International Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space, he advances global efforts in sustainable urban development.

  As founder and Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, Prof. Laloui shapes the field’s discourse. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Interpore Kimberly-Clark Distinguished Lectureship Award (2026), ASCE Kersten Lecture (2020), Vienna Terzaghi Lecture (2022), the DFI John Mitchell Lecture (2025).

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• Professor Christian Moormann

  Full Professor and Head of Chair of Institute for Geotechnical Engineering at University of Stuttgart, Germany, and President of the German Geotechnical Society (DGGT)

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  Professor Christian Moormann

  Full Professor and Head of Chair of Institute for Geotechnical Engineering at University of Stuttgart, Germany, and President of the German Geotechnical Society (DGGT)

  Christian Moormann is full professor and head of the Institute of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Stuttgart. He earned his Diploma in civil engineering from the University of Hannover (Germany) and received his Ph.D. and Habilitation from the Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany). Prof Moormann has been involved in geotechnical research, consulting and education for over 25 years providing solutions to a wide range of geotechnical research projects and tasks, including physical and numerical modelling, resilience, renewable energy, underground structures and deep foundations. As authorised and certified court expert advisor and owner of Moormann Geotechnical Consult (MGC) he has been responsible for 1,000+ projects in civil, geotechnical and environmental engineering in more than 40 countries worldwide. He is a management group member of SC7 drafting the next generation of Eurocode 7 and leads the project team for the new Part 3 ´Geotechnical Structures´. Since 2022 Prof. Moormann is serving as president of the German Geotechnical Society (DGGT).

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• Professor Mingliang (Carter) Zhou

  Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University

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  Professor Mingliang (Carter) Zhou

  Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University

  Dr. Mingliang Zhou is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at the College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China. He holds international roles, including Vice General Secretary of the International Joint Research Centre for Resilient Infrastructure (ICRI) and membership in ISSMGE Technical Committees TC309 and TC222. Dr. Zhou earned his BA, MEng, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cambridge, UK. His research focuses on enhancing the resilience of underground infrastructure through advanced intelligent construction technologies, emphasizing safety management and disaster mitigation strategies for subsea tunnels. His innovative research has been applied in major infrastructure projects such as the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Second Subsea Tunnel and the China-Laos Railway. He has authored more than 80 journal and conference papers and co-authored the book “AI-enhanced Safety Evaluation for Tunnelling in Rock Engineering”. His industry-linked research has received recognition through awards such as the ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture Award, ITA Product Innovation Award, and the Gold Medal at the Geneva International Invention Exhibition

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• Professor Yu Qian

  Associate Professor, University of South Carolina

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  Professor Yu Qian

  Associate Professor, University of South Carolina

  Dr. Yu Qian is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Structural Engineering from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, a Master’s degree with honors in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Kansas, and another Master’s degree in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  Dr. Qian’s research centers on intelligent transportation infrastructure and transportation geotechnics, with a strong emphasis on ensuring the safety, resilience, and longevity of critical civil infrastructure systems. His interdisciplinary work integrates advanced technologies such as computer vision, image analysis, artificial intelligence, and edge computing to support the design, inspection, monitoring, and maintenance of key infrastructure assets.His research contributes to the development of smarter, more sustainable infrastructure systems that align with the evolving demands of modern transportation networks.

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• Derek Smith

  Managing Director, Coffey Geotechnics Limited

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  Derek Smith

  Managing Director, Coffey Geotechnics Limited

  Derek has more than 38 years’ experience in geotechnical engineering, providing advice to clients on a wide range of geotechnical and geoenvironmental projects.  He joined Coffey as a Senior Geotechnical Engineer in 1995, becoming Managing Director in October 2022.

  He has been particularly active with various professional bodies, including serving on the BGA Executive Committee for many years, acting on behalf of IOM3 in developing the RoGEP scheme, managing the drafting of the 2nd edition of the SISG series and being Secretary to the Organising Committee of the very successful XVI ECSMGE 2015 in Edinburgh.

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• Stuart Vaughan

  Director, Wentworth House

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  Stuart Vaughan

  Director, Wentworth House

  Stuart has been a Director at Wentworth for over 15 years and has 30 years’ experience in construction engineering and ground engineering.  From a Graduate Engineer on the Jubilee Line Extension to recent city center basements (50 Fenchurch Street, Salisbury Square, Bank OSD) and Thames Tideway, Stuart and his colleagues at Wentworth have delivered high quality basement solutions improving client value.

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• Elliot Broad

  Project Manager, Keltbray

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  Elliot Broad

  Project Manager, Keltbray

  Elliot is a Project Manager at Keltbray with over six years of experience in the construction industry, including demolition, piling, groundworks, substructures, and superstructure works. He joined Keltbray as a Graduate Engineer through the Graduate Programme and has held roles as an Estimator and Project Engineer before progressing to Project Manager. Elliot has delivered projects across various sectors in the UK, including infrastructure, coastal, and commercial developments. Notably, he has successfully managed high-profile basement projects in London such as the Salisbury Square Development, building strong relationships with project and client teams to deliver safe, high-quality outcomes. Elliot also leads the Moving Plant ‘Big 6’ initiative as part of the Keltbray Promote Health, Prevent Harm (PH2) strategy. Elliot thrives on the daily challenges presented by Keltbray’s multi-disciplinary projects, particularly those focused on

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• Charlotte Woodall-Jones

  UK Discipline Lead – Tunnels and Ground Engineering, Systra

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  Charlotte Woodall-Jones

  UK Discipline Lead – Tunnels and Ground Engineering, Systra

  Charlotte has over 20 years’ experience in Ground Engineering leading and managing geotechnical delivery from optioneering and feasibility studies through design and construction.

  Passionate about managing ground risk throughout the project lifecycle, Charlotte has a breadth of multi-sector project experience.

  She is a Chartered UK Registered Ground Engineering Professional driven to blend the skillsets of Engineering Geologists and Geotechnical Engineers.  At SYSTRA she leads a team empowered to use innovative thinking and a breadth of skills to find the best constructible solutions whilst managing ground risk.

  Having started her career as a geology graduate inspired by Dr Brian Hawkins to pursue a career in Engineering Geology, Charlotte now holds a UK Wide Senior Leadership position. Her own journey through a male-dominated arena inspires her to champion and seek out diversity, and to empower her team to understand their own barriers to progression, development, and delivery irrespective of grade and experience.

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• Dr Jessie Davey

  Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Systra

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  Dr Jessie Davey

  Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Systra

  Jessie has 20 years’ global experience in Ground Engineering focusing on geological inputs to refine engineering design and risk.

  After obtaining a PhD from the University of Adelaide and the Australian School of Petroleum in Geomechanics, Jessie moved into mining and energy in Australasia, focusing on development of ground models to solve structural geological complexities. Her primary focus for this has been integrating geophysical interpretation with geological validation, mineralogy and structural geology to enhance ground models.

  Over her career, Jessie has developed a passionate for creative solutions to engineering challenges, firmly believing that the answer comes from the geology.  This has been pivotal in her role at SYSTRA, where Jessie has led a project team dedicated to achieving client driven sustainable targets through creative engineering.

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• Dr Palak Shukla

  BGA ECG Chair/ Senior Engineer, Ramboll

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  Dr Palak Shukla

  BGA ECG Chair/ Senior Engineer, Ramboll

  Palak is the outgoing chair of the BGA’s Early Careers Group and is a senior engineer at Ramboll. She holds a PhD from University College London. She has been involved with the BGA ECG since 2020.

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• Dr Kevin Briggs

  Associate Professor in Geomechanics, University of Southampton

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  Dr Kevin Briggs

  Associate Professor in Geomechanics, University of Southampton

  Kevin Briggs is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow. He has more than 15 years experience in civil engineering research and consulting, with a focus on transportation geotechnics and engineering geology.

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• Ana Heitor

  Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, University of Leeds

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  Ana Heitor

  Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, University of Leeds

  Dr Ana Heitor leads interdisciplinary research on climate driven deterioration of the behaviour of engineered materials (soils and wastes) and the use of low carbon stabilisation methods for enhancing performance and resiliency of geotechnical assets. She is a Chartered  Engineer and has 20years experience in geotechnical research, industry practice and consulting. She is currently the Deputy Director of student education and leads the Geotechnical group in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds.

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• Stefano Quintavalle

  Head of Temporary Works at SCS for HS2, Skanska

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  Stefano Quintavalle

  Head of Temporary Works at SCS for HS2, Skanska

  Stefano Quintavalle is the Head of Temporary Works for the HS2 (S1/S2) contract, overseeing the Temporary Works team on one of the largest projects in Europe. With over 16 years of experience in designing and building civil engineering infrastructures, Stefano has held significant roles in major projects such as HS2 and the redevelopment of London Bridge Station. He actively participates in the Temporary Works Forum (TWf) and has led the group for the Design Process and Testing of the “Design and Construction of Granular Working Platforms for Construction Plant,” 2024 edition. Stefano is also a co-author of the research “Giant shear box tests on recycled 6F5 for tracked plant platforms,” which was presented at XVIII European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Lisbon. Committed to promoting sustainable Temporary Works designs, Stefano focuses on innovation to introduce new materials or technologies that contribute to effective carbon reduction.

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• Jeff Mahony

  Technical Director, Galldris Group

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  Jeff Mahony

  Technical Director, Galldris Group

  Jeff has over 27 years’ experience in major civil engineering projects throughout the UK & Ireland, where his experience extends from major road and rail schemes, major pipelines, significant demolition works in the centre of London, to time in the military as an engineer officer. His last 12 years of his career have been completely dedicated to the temporary works industry, most of which has been with Costain. Passionate about innovation, he has led various improvement projects in temporary works within the HS2 programme along with intercompany reviews and improvements at Costain. He is also heavily involved with the Temporary Works Forum on a regular basis and has recently chaired a working group for the “Design and Construction of Granular Working Platforms for Construction Plant” which form part of this event.

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• Dr Sam Divall

  Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, City St George’s, University of London

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  Dr Sam Divall

  Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, City St George’s, University of London

  Dr Divall is a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering within the Department of Engineering within the School of Science & Technology at City St George’s, University of London. Dr Divall has published papers mostly in the area of the ground’s response to construction in a congested underground space. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He is also an invited member of the ISSMGE Technical Committee for Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (TC104) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dr Divall is Chair of the Consortium for Research into Congested Underground Space (CoRCUS), Director of the Civil Engineering Laboratory and Giant Shear Box facility and Director of the Research Group into Transforming Urban Environments (TrUE).

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• Niall Corney

  Managing Director, Geoground Engineering Limited

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  Niall Corney

  Managing Director, Geoground Engineering Limited

  Niall has over three decades of global experience in geotechnical engineering and civil infrastructure having worked for consultants, contractors and manufacturers on major projects across the UK, Hong Kong, North America, Europe and Turkey. His project design experience crosses a number of sectors including airports, high-speed rail, highways, ports, flood protection, and water infrastructure. He has a deep understanding of the civil engineering industry and in particular a strong background in geosynthetics and the provision of specialist design services within the ground engineering sector.

  Niall holds a BEng. in Civil Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and he is affiliated with several professional organisations, including the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IMMM), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the British Geotechnical Association (BGA), and the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS).

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• Dr Loretta von der Tann

  Research Manager, CIRIA

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  Dr Loretta von der Tann

  Research Manager, CIRIA

  Dr Loretta von der Tann is a Research Manager at CIRIA who brings together technical skills and industry experience with an awareness for the wider industry needs and research priorities. She has a background in geotechnical engineering and holds a PhD in civil engineering. Her thesis focused at systems thinking for planning the urban subsurface. Prior to joining CIRIA, Loretta worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute focusing on sustainability in geotechnics. At CIRIA, Loretta is leading the construction and asset management theme that includes the long history of CIRIA producing guidance on geotechnical topics.

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